Strain !? . Review on The Human Stain Movie

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“Evil originates in the human quest for purity” -

Philip Roth

Philip Roth‘s novels are famous for their irony. There are also so many themes like identity, rebellion and sexuality which recur again and again in these novels. Since he touches on the sensitive subjects related to sex, obsession and love, his novels can be a good subject for a Hollywood movie. But then, there are many things which can be expressed very well in a novel rather than in a film. Since his novels are complex, adapting it into a film also becomes difficult. “The Human Stain” directed by Philip Benton is a sincere attempt to remain true to Roth’s novel and to capture the essence of it.But,is he successful in this venture? Let us see…

When Coleman Silk (Anthony Hopkins), a classics professor from college asked whether the two students who didn’t attend the class even though they were registered were “spooks”, he didn’t realize that it would become a big issue. When he had meant “ghosts”, his colleagues in college accuses him of committing a racial slur. Even though he tried to convince others that he didn’t know that they were African-Americans, they are not convinced. Frustrated, he resigns his job. Shocked by this news, his wife dies of a massive heart attack. Coleman meets Zuckerman (who happens to be Roth’s alter ego) and wants him to write it as a book. Slowly, he starts visiting Zuckerman regularly and becomes very close friends with him. He confesses to Zuckerman that he is having a Viagra-enhanced affair with an illiterate 34-year old college janitor, Faunia (Nicole Kidman). Faunia is very depressed because of her past. Her husband(Ed Harris) thinks that Faunia is the sole reason for the death of their children. So he threatens to hurt her bad. When he comes to know that Coleman Silk and his wife are having an affair, he becomes very disturbed .Zuckerman tries his best to convince Coleman Silk to come out of his relationship with Faunia. But he refuses to accept his views. But the biggest irony is he had built his own life based on a huge lie. He happens to be a light skinned African American who has successfully passed as a white Jew. Even though he very well knew that this truth would save his name in his college, he refuses to show his true identity. He confesses about his past to Faunia. It so happens that they meet their end in an accident “planned” by Faunia’s husband.

The character of Coleman Silk is very complex. His pride seemed to be more important than anything in his world. In fact, he didn’t even confess about his past to his wife who had been with him for more than 25 years. He refuses to talk to his mother, brother or sister out of his fear that others would come to know of this secret. You couldn’t but hate Coleman when he leaves his mother in a cold hearted manner just because his first love came to know that he was an African American. But then, it was this lie that helped him build his respectable life as a classics professor in a reputed college. The irony is that his guilt grows deeper as years progress and it manifests as his extreme sensitivity to the racial slur issue. One should accept that he wanted to live life his own way .He chooses to be a white man and establishes his own identity. He takes so much pain to prove others that he is a white man. But then, after the death of his wife, his affair with a young woman makes us think that he is sick of living a life as a football of other’s opinions and is no longer bothered about his pride or prestige. To be frank, it was very difficult for me to accept Anthony Hopkins in this character initially. I felt that he did a great job in this role though.

The character of Faunia was even more complex. She had been rich when she was young. But then, when her mother remarried, her stepfather abuses her which prompts her to run away from her family. This horrible past of her haunts her through her mid-life and makes her a very depressed and an unhappy woman... When her children die in a fire accident, it only added fuel to the fire. She became even more depressed. She knows very well that having an affair with an old man is morally wrong in her own standards. But then, she doesn’t really bother about it and wants only company from him. It is very evident that she is afraid of getting hurt again .That is why she doesn’t want Coleman to have romantic intentions about her. Nicole Kidman excels in this role .Sometimes, you wonder whether she is really “living” it. It is also very emotionally straining and one should appreciate for doing her best in this role when she was already emotionally drained because of the problems in her personal life.

The title “Human Stain” probably refers to the racism issue. But on a bigger perspective, it indicates the “evil that originates because of man’s quest for purity”. Human beings define their own standards of purity and try to stick to it till their end of their life .Whether it is political correctness or moral standards or racist issues, it doesn’t matter. But they don’t understand that while they try to live a restricted life based on these standards, they are forced to break their own rules. For example, even though Coleman knew very well that having an affair with a young woman was wrong according to his standards of sexual morality, he was not able to get out of it.

But, I felt that the film adaptation of this novel didn’t do justice to the essence of the novel. The issues that are dealt here are very subtle and can be very well expressed in a novel rather than in a film. The actors did a great job, no doubt, but then, the screenplay could have been much better .Benton, the director tries to give a cinematic touch to the climax, but then, I lost interest because I felt that the film ended in the previous scene itself. (Those who have read the book before seeing this film would understand this statement!) Also the film is very depressing in many places even though the acting was great. I was reminded of “Leaving Las Vegas” (It had a love story between a slowly dying drunkard and a good-natured prostitute) which was as depressing as this film. The book was much much better than the film…That is my final opinion !If you are a fan of Nicole Kidman or Anthony Hopkins, then see this movie, otherwise, I would recommend you to read the book.!